The Fight
by justcrazykids
Summary: Since the day I realized that I was in love with my best friend, I knew that I'd protect her from anything. Unfortunately for me, she just had to get into a fight against a brute of a Merchant boy, right at the time when I was locked up in a dismal classroom. This is a recount of the one fight that I ultimately lost, due to my inability to prevent it. *No Games; G/K; Gale POV; T*


**A/N: First story is up! :D I wrote this about two months ago, and I just recently found it on my laptop. Some characters may be a bit OOC and overall the story is AU. I've rated it T due to frequent swearing and mild sexual suggestions. Anyways, I really hope you enjoy this story! (:**

**The Fight**

I'm trudging silently through the halls of the tiny senior's wing that's connected to the rest of the high school. I watch other students I vaguely recognize as they pass me. I'm the only one who isn't walking towards the exit, trying to get the hell out of there. I get to enjoy an entire damn hour of detention. For getting caught in my normal habits of ditching.

School is pointless in my opinion. Why? There's hardly any sort of career you can pursue in District 12, the laughing stock of all the other districts, which requires you to have any more than a middle school knowledge base.

The only career men from the Seam (the smallest and poorest part of District 12) can have is working in the dreadful coal mines. The same coal mines that killed mine, and my best friend Katniss's fathers.

Katniss. Damn, I wish she would be rebellious enough to ditch with me. Ditching (a.k.a. hunting) isn't fun without her being there to keep me company. Honestly, she's far more rebellious than any other girl in all of District 12. For four years her and I have went out hunting and trading illegally, and also building a very close friendship.

How very much wish it was _more_ than a friendship. Secretly, I've been harboring a deep love for my Catnip. I never realized how much I actually like her until I noticed how jealous I would become of everything a male would do to catch her attention. To keep these other guys, mostly perverted merchant boys, away from her, I constantly get involved with fights.

All the fights I've gotten into earned me a reputation as a badass. Because I never lost one. After winning numerous fights, I noticed a lot more attention from girls. They batted their lashes and constantly try to gain my attention by being flirtatious. It's easy to reject them though, there's only one person who I can see myself having a romantic relationship with. That's Katniss.

Damn, I wish I knew what went on inside her head! She easily the most abnormal girl in existence, a hunter, fighter, and a through and through toughie. But constantly I'd hear that other people believed that she likes me. _She _likes _me_? I'd thought the first time I overheard the allegation.

Since hearing all of the rumors of our secret feelings for each other, I've become more alert to her every action. Nothing in her actions proved any sort of secret love, at least not to my eyes. Still, I may be biased.

I'm mean seriously, how the hell could somebody like Katniss, who's beautiful and open to so many options, like _me_? A boy from the Seam who's easily not the most handsome guy out there. Katniss, although being from the Seam also, is open to so many more guys! She could even score a merchant boy, without even trying. I'm positive of it.

But still, although I quickly cast the rumors from my mind, I always wonder, maybe I'm just somehow blinded and unable to see what the others see. The spark in her eyes as I approach, the faint blush that creeps onto her lightly tanned cheeks and the happiness that they'd said, glistened out of her.

Even though the possibility is small, I can and always will hope that her feelings mimic mine. Even if she never wants children, she can still be mine and I can still be hers.

I'm engulfed by thoughts and possibilities of a future with her that I hardly realize that some part of my subconscious has led me to the classroom I'd been assigned to for detention.

I take my normal seat in the back of the room, next to the tiny windows which you could hardly put a fist through. The teacher spares me no words; we've been through this so many times before. She'll be back in an hour to unlock the door and don't be stupid again. I've never paid her much mind, what's the point? Of course I miss precious time hunting with Katniss, but I'm sure she finds other things to occupy her time.

Like what? Homework, I'm sure. Trading, cleaning her weaponry, and possibly hunting. Without me. Damn how I wish she were here. Maybe next time I'll try harder than normally to get her to ditch.

A voice startles me out of my thoughts. Huh, I would think everyone would've gotten the hell out and gone on to do something with their lives. "Can't believe you actually showed up," the voice says, shock evident in his tone. I can't recognize the voice, but assume it's a strong merchant boy preparing for a fight.

"Obviously so, you think I would've dropped out of a fight?" My mouth drops in surprise. And horror. That voice belongs to Catnip. _My Catnip_! How and why is she there? She doesn't really intend to fight does she? A million questions swarm my mind, and the answers I come up with don't offer much relief.

"Not exactly," the boy says evilly, "I would've thought that you would've brought Hawthorne." Me? He thinks she would've brought me to fight him? Dammit why didn't she think of that? I could've easily skipped detention and went to whoop some ass.

Of course, Catnip would never do that. She values her pride way too much to have someone else fight her battles for her. But now her pride might end up getting her beat up.

"Despite my positivity that Gale could beat you in a minute flat, I wouldn't get enough satisfaction watching Gale kick your ass," she says with a mixture of pride and anger. My heart leaps, she thinks we're close _and_ she trusts that I'd be able to easily whoop this guy. "What you did was despicable and I need to be the one to take care of you." What the hell had he done that been so despicable that she would agree to fight him? A million more possibilities run through my mind.

"Oh come on, I'm sure you would _thoroughly _enjoy it," he gleams with satisfaction and… what else? Oh shit. Shit shit shit. I abruptly realize what this was about. He's trying to _seduce _her.

Say no Katniss! Say no and run! "You're repulsive," she states, clearly furious. And that's when I heard _somebody_ get slapped. Please please don't let it be Katniss, I beg to myself.

For a brief moment my stupidity had gotten to me; there's a damn window right across from me offering a small view to the fight. I scoot my chair over to peer out of the tiny window. Thankfully, the boy, a blond haired burly brute, who's 10 times bigger and stronger than Katniss, is rubbing a hand on his cheek in awe.

I glance over at a prideful Katniss. The pride seems to be emitting from her pores when a deafening roar takes her aback. "What the fuck, _nobody_ hits me! Especially not some bitchy little girl!"

I stare Katniss down, as her face turns from gleaming pride to intense anger. "That's pretty harsh coming from the man-whore that you are," she says trying to contain her anger. What in fucks name is wrong with her? Doesn't she know not to provoke this bastard even more? Is she insane?

He looks deeply offended and angered, and takes a swing at her. Luckily for the both of us, she's agile enough to move away in the nick of time. She quickly fires back by pushing the guy.

He only gets angrier, if that's even possible, and throws out another punch. This time, she isn't quick enough to respond, and his fist collides with her fragile face. My heart is absolutely beating out of my chest as she crashes to the ground, her hand covering her cheek.

Stay down, Catnip! Maybe he'll leave! Or maybe he'll… Get up and run Catnip! The vile thoughts of my little Catnip being _forced _into bed with this dirty fuck plague me in the moments she lie on the ground helplessly.

She quickly lifts the hand off of her cheek and gets up. I can see a brown-yellow bruise beginning to form on her lower jaw. This boy, whose name was being chanted, Leo, is smirking menacingly at comparably small Catnip.

This situation is messed up in _so_ many ways. First, the clearly advantaged merchant boy is fighting a small 16 year old, who happens to be my Catnip. Second, the fight is because she won't sleep with him. I'm overjoyed that she refused him, but refusal must not be common to him, what with all the sluts around this god-forsaken. And third, the crowd that gathered to watch the fight is cheering on the guy that was unforgivably beating up a girl. How evil.

Katniss looks angrily into Leo's face. My Catnip is _clearly _is unlike any other girl to walk the planet. Any girl who had even agreed to fight this guy would be fearful at this point. He continues to smile menacingly at her.

Next, he throws another punch that Katniss avoids. Leaving himself open, she quickly goes in for another attack. Just when I think she's going to attempt a punch, her foot collides with the most sensitive part of any guys' body. And I'm in complete and utter shock.

I swear, this girl is the bravest girl in all of Panem, but when he recovers, she is dead in his hands. I look from the boy that is clutching his crotch in pain, to the girl standing over him. "Won't be able to use that for a while, will you asshole?"

Before I can control myself, I start grinning like a madman. Holy shit! Not even many guys would have the balls to say that! But of course, Catnip would do something completely out of the ordinary. She smirks at him tauntingly.

Now he's on the ground and he can't hurt you, run! Run before he can get up and _murder_ you! My thoughts of course can't reach her, and she continues to smirk at him. But in a flash, he's up pushing the newly shocked Katniss to the ground.

Dammit! Why didn't she run while she had the chance? Now she's at his mercy and my heart is beginning to feel pained. Pain that this prideful, strong, brave girl that I love is going to be injured further.

Leo crawls over, clearly still in pain, to where Katniss lays still in awe. He directs a punch to her nose, but gets blocked. Is she really _that _strong? Strong enough to block of a punch from a guy 10 times stronger than herself? Damn she _is _strong.

She quickly gets over her awe and counters his punch. She hits him squarely in the nose and I hear a sickening crack. Did she just _break _his nose? Leo now yells in pain as the blood gushes from his now crooked nose. Katniss looks completely unfazed.

The first time I ever broke someone's nose I ended up fracturing my knuckle. Hell, she doesn't even look like it hurt!

His yells last a short minute and as he collects himself, Katniss breaks free from him. As she gets up, she looks shocked again. This time I can easily assume that it's the shock of breaking someone's nose. He stands again to face her, evil anger evident in his glaring eyes.

She sees this intense look also and quickly backs away. He steps up and attacks again. This time, she isn't fast enough to escape and his foot makes contact with her side.

No! I glance at the clock; only 3:25. As soon as I get out of here, I'm going to pulverize this fucker. As I look back to the window, I see how bad that situation is now. Katniss is on her knees, clutching her side and gasping for the air that was knocked out of her. The sick bastard Leo says something quietly that I can barely make out; "You know I love it when bitches are on their knees for me…"

I. Am. Going. To. _Murder. _Him. Katniss quickly understands what he's referring to, and gets up. Once she's standing, although still cradling her side, she tackles him, and surprisingly brings him to the ground.

He says something else I'm unable to hear, even through these thin glassed windows. It angers Katniss more than anything I've ever seen before. She starts throwing punches towards his face and chest. A few of them hit their target, making him angrier than ever.

Leo rolls over on top of Katniss, his weight pinning her down. She struggles feebly, but is soon calmed by an unblockable punch to the chin. It catches her off guard, but only intensifies the anger building inside of her.

They continue throwing light punches, only a few reaching their destination. Soon Leo stands up, as does Katniss. Before she can begin combat again, she's pushed into a tree. I silently groan, why didn't she run when she had the chance? Now she's going to get hurt and I have to watch helplessly!

Leo is in front of her with one quick step, holding her arms. I see pain flicker across her face and my heart drops again. When she gets hurt, I can feel her pain. Its absolute agony. She's still trying to get away hopelessly. Catnip's a fighter and she won't ever go down without a fight.

"Would you stop struggling, bitch, and take what's coming to you?" Leo bellows. I would do anything for it to be 4 o'clock and get the opportunity to get revenge. Revenge for hurting _my _Catnip. Revenge for trying to seduce _my _Catnip. And revenge for calling _my _Catnip a bitch!

She looks up angrily and says, "Again, a bold accusation coming from a man whore like yourself!" As if this wasn't enough to make him want to murder her, she _spit _in his face. She is clearly unaware of Leo's capabilities or possibly underestimates them.

The feeling of dread washed through me as I hear her yelling, "Get off of me you sick bastard!" Her voice shakes and I quickly see what the shit head is doing. His hands are making their way up her shirt. No! This isn't happening!

She realizes that there is little that she can do besides scream, so she uses his own hormones against him. Now her hands are free and she motions with her finger to come closer. She's going to _kiss_ him? No she would never, she must have a plan. He leans in taking his opportunity and Katniss butts heads with him.

Leo takes a step back leaving Katniss free. She rubs her forehead and moans. She clambers back to the tree, not thinking clearly. Damn, I hope she didn't get a concussion.

Leo being thick-headed (literally) snaps out of it sooner than Katniss. She's still rubbing her head warily and before she can avert it, Leo's foot comes crashing into her knee cap. She lets out a truly bloodcurdling scream and falls backward into the tree.

My heart is aching again seeing how much pain she is in. Her head is down, but I can still see that she's never experienced pain like this. Poor Catnip is clutching onto her knee and trembling incredibly.

I look back to the clock. 3:40. Shit, come on Catnip, please just fight him off for another 20 minutes. I'll be there soon enough to get revenge.

She looks up and I can't believe what I see. Tears are streaming down her bruised cheeks. I'd never, _never_ seen Catnip cry before. Not even after all the bullshit she's been through in her life. Seeing her cry now makes me realize the extent of her pain and it breaks my heart.

Even with tears rolling off her cheeks, there's still anger and courage in her eyes. She can't think that she can beat him? She probably can't even walk! She can only block off punches… At least until _I _get there.

Leo being the monster he is laughs at her pain. I'd love to laugh when he's at my mercy.

Katniss stares at him coldly and he decides to approach her again. "Come on babe, I won't have to hurt you again. Just come back home with me and I'll show you better time than Hawthorne ever has."

The moment my name passed through his lips, Katniss was up as if she was never hurt. "How _dare _you assume that!" Then her foot, the one that was connected to her injured knee, came colliding with his pants. Again.

He yells out in agony, as does Katniss. She clutches her knee trying to contain herself. Just as she looks up, Leo slaps her point blank in the face. This time there is no shock, only anger. Anger that I'd never seen before.

Before he could stop her, she's in his face screaming, "What the fuck is your problem? You bastard, you _never _slap a girl!" I can't blame her for being so hostile; slapping a girl is about as bad as cussing out your own mother.

Leo took the closeness as another chance for seduction, so he ever so slightly began feeling down her back. This only intensified Katniss's anger, as she pushes him away. "How does it feel," she starts, her foot clashing into Leo's shin bone, "When somebody kicks _your _leg?"

She's fighting back. And she's winning! How the hell could Catnip be doing this? It's incredible!

But to me and Katniss's dismay, Leo is up quickly. Her kick was powerful, but not powerful enough to cause as much damage as his had. As soon as he gets up, Katniss is being pushed to the ground. He follows after her and clutches to her hair forcing her to look at him. Their eyes bore into each other's for a few seconds, before his enormous legs are on Katniss's knee and I hear a gut wrenching _crunch_.

She cries out in obvious agony. "I bet you never scream like that when you're with Gale do you?"

I feel myself blushing and see the blush creeping on to Catnip's battered face. It's evident that she can't fight back anymore. She's too badly injured and too weak. She's actually shaking. Somehow, mustering up all of her inner strength, she throws him one more punch.

This one is easily far more powerful than the others. It hits directly in Leo's forehead. I can tell how powerful the blow is, the bruise and bump take form immediately and he sits unmoving for several seconds.

When he reopens his eyes, he looks directly at Katniss, who is still pinned underneath of him. She whispers something to him, which I can't understand. He laughs and says, "I bet, you little slut. You're out there every day with him; you can't expect me to believe that there's nothing going on!"

Before she can unwillingly respond, Leo gets off of her. Now he's merely crouching beside her. Katniss is panting and trying to sit up. He holds a hand to her chest to restrain her… I think it's a little more than to just _restrain_ her. "Get off of me," she demands in a coarse and weak voice.

He doesn't comply, but instead lifts her by the neck and holds her to another tree. "How does it feel," he starts. Sudden realization pours into my head. God dammit! "When somebody punches _you _in the head?"

As he says that, he sends his fist into Katniss's forehead. She screams in pain once again and Leo drops her shaking body at the roots of the tree. She's barely holding onto consciousness when he says one last thing.

He lifts her again, this time by the shirt, and turns her to face the window of my classroom. "Say hi to Hawthorne when you feel a bit better." She opens her eyes and looks at me in shock and a glisten of something else. Before I can decipher the other emotion, Leo drops her again, this time rougher than the previous time. Before she can speak, he kicks her again, in her injured knee-cap.

She looks to me, at my worried and broken expression, right before going unconscious. Leo walks- well limps away and quickly the crowd disappears.

Now the only person left on the battlefield is my broken Catnip. I look at the clock. 3:58. In two minutes I'll be able to be with her, hold her, protect her, and help her to heal. I just hope to God I'm not too late…

I look back to her unmoving body. Surely she can't be dead, right? I mean, she can't be! I'm struggling to contain my emotions. What if I'm too late? What if she _is _somehow dead? I'll never be able to live without her, without my Catnip.

I hear the door click and before I know it, I'm running out of the classroom. I run desperately down the hall and out the door to the arena where my Catnip may or may not be breathing. I'm over to her limp body in seconds, scooping her into my arms. And too my relief, she's alive.

She's breathing shallowly, but it's enough. Through the window, I never saw the extent of her injuries. There are purpling marks spotting her face, a sickening brown mark on her chin, and a very red bump on her forehead. There's light bruising at her neck from where Leo held her to the tree.

I take her hands in my own and examine them. Her knuckles are bruised and possibly fractured, and there are ominous looking bruises on her upper arms.

Now to examine the worst; her knee. I sit here under the tree thinking of how to maneuver off her boot without causing her pain. I hesitantly remove her almost knee high boot and she winces only once. Now I'm faced with the task of rolling up her pant leg to see her knee.

I start rolling up her skin tight leggings, wishing that she'd have worn something looser. A few inches before her knee cap is in view, she winces again. She jolts upright, gasping in pain. Shit. At least she's awake.

"Ga-Gale?" she choked out.

"Hey Catnip," I say worriedly. "How do you feel?"

"Great aside from the fact that I was almost seduced and beaten to bits," she replies lightly, as if trying to make a joke out of the serious situation.

"How badly does it hurt?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

She hesitates for a minute, trying to be strong. Of course she's already one of the strongest people I know, but she hates showing any weakness. "S'not so bad," she says quietly.

"Catnip, I know you better than that!" I say frustratedly. "There's no way in hell that you're going to look weak by telling me what hurts! You just took on a fucking monstrous 18 year old!"

She sighs defeatedly. "Well my knee cap hurts like hell-" she winces, "And my face could feel better. _A lot_ better. And my side." Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about her side. I quickly reach for her shirt to examine the wound and I'm met by her hand.

"What is it?" I ask hesitantly.

"Gale," she started closing her eyes and taking a breath. "I was almost been _seduced _today. I tried to fight for my right of choice, but _still _ended up getting felt up. Don't expect me to not hesitate a little when somebody reaches up my shirt." She smirks a bit at the last sentence, which is somewhat comforting.

I grin back at her. Her smiles are always easy to return. "My apologies, but I think my intentions are a little different than his."

"Gotcha," she says grinning and dropping her hands. I lift her shirt a small ways up and gasp at what I'm presented with. Red marks mixed with bruises all down her sides. I look back at her and see instead of the look of pain on her face, a look of anger. "He's dead," she mumbles through gritted teeth.

"I'll make sure he pays," I say with a hard voice.

"How much of the fight did you see?" she asks with curiosity and… something else… something the curiosity is trying to hide… Fear, regret, guilt? It doesn't make sense…

"All of it. I had detention until 4:00, so I got to see the entire thing," I say, trying to understand what this other secret emotion was, that Katniss is trying to hide.

"Some fight," she says weakly. "I hardly made a dent in him, and he swatted me away like a damn fly!"

"Some fight? Catnip that was _some _fight. I've never seen a girl deny the request of sex-" she blushes "and then get into a fight over it! I didn't know that you could really pack a punch, that guy had more than a _dent_, he has a limp."

"But I hardly even hurt him!" she exclaimed.

"Katniss, he has as many bruises on his face as you do, his shin is in rough shape, and I'm sure he won't be able to engage in his _hobby_ for at least a month," I say pridefully.

She smiles genuinely at me, "You really think so?"

"Positive. Not a doubt in my mind."

And before I know it, I'm cupping my hands around Katniss's face pulling it closer to my own. My lips lightly brush into hers and to my relief, she doesn't pull back. I only pull her closer, hold her tighter. I feel her hands holding onto the back of my neck. The kiss, _our _kiss, was over too soon, and I opened my eyes to see Katniss beaming at me.

"You know, I've been wanting to do that for a _long_ time," I say smiling back at her.

Her smile widens, "You know, me too."

So it really is true after all! After all they've said, and all the doubt, she really _is _in love with me. "I love you."

"I love you too," she says looking up at me, still smiling.

I walk with her back to the Seam. She rests in my protective arms and we talk of how the town with react at our new-found relationship. We laugh and smile, and I know, like I've known from the day my feelings started, she _is _the one.

We get back to her house and her mother analyzes her injuries and prepares medications. Her knee-cap is the worst thing, it's completely shattered. She's given ice for her bruises, bone-mending pills for her knee, and a large dosage of pain relief. The drowsiness from the drugs quickly lulls her to sleep.

Before reluctantly leaving, I give her a gentle kiss on the forehead. Then I leave the house and set out to my own. My mother and my baby sister Posy are the only ones home. "Mom, I'm staying at the Everdeen's tonight," I say gently.

"Why?" she asks simply, curiously.

I begin to briefly explain the events of the afternoon, and why I need to be there with Katniss. When I tell her of our new relationship, she beams at me. "I always knew that you two would end up together."

I blush a little, give her and Posy a kiss on the cheek, and leave the house.

Now I get to see the one person who will always make my heart beat a little faster. The person who I can be myself around. The person who lights up my world, like a sun. To see the one person who's just as hopelessly in love with me, as I am with her.

This is going to work. We'll always be hunting partners, we'll always be best friends, and now, we'll both always love each other. And everything feels completely right, as if fate felt it owed us something for how shitty our lives have been, so it gave us to each other. And how I couldn't be more delighted with its decision.

**A/N: Soooo, how was it? (: If you liked it, detested it, or just have some criticism, I'd love to hear it! For the first fic I've EVER written, I don't think it's too bad, but I realize that there are mistakes that I didn't catch. Point them out to me please, I want to fix them and perfect this story! Thanks so much! :D**


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